World Arabic Language Day

Posted: Tue, Dec 18, 2018 12:52 AM

Did you know that the 18th of December is World Arabic Language Day?

This wonderful day was established by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2010 in an effort to “celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as promote equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the organisation.”

Although it is still considered mysterious and largely unknown within the UK and Ireland, Arabic is actually one of the most widely spoken languages, with an estimated 400 million speakers across the world!

Arabic is not only beautiful and elegant in script, but also relevant and increasingly important within the business world. With increasing demand for fluent Arabic speakers from within the UK and Ireland, Tony Calderbank of the British Council, believes that Arabic should be entered onto the British school curriculum.

He says: “There are lots of good practical reasons why Arabic is a good choice for UK schools […] It is both essential and timely that the learning of Arabic in the UK should be expanded, and that more children in our schools should have the opportunity to learn the language and become more familiar with the cultures and peoples of the Arab world.”

Arabic is one of the languages on our Lingotot programme and we teach it to young children, and their families, through stories, songs and play. These classes have been incredibly popular and one parent, Michelle Bush Batty, said: “It’s always so lovely to hear what new words have been taught and share them with the whole family. I recommend theses classes to anyone wishing to incorporate such a beautiful language into their lives."

We would love for you to join us in celebrating World Arabic Language Day and the best way to do that is to give it a try!

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